DWF has opened an office in Hamburg with an 11-lawyer transport and marine team hired from two German boutiques.
The group, which includes three partners and eight further fee earners alongside five business services staff, have joined from Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein (ASD) and SKW Schwarz (SKW). The combined team will be led by partner Marco Remiorz, who joins from ASD, with partners Philipp Hartmann and Niels Witt joining from SKW.
Matthew Doughty, DWF’s CEO, commented: “Germany is an important territory for DWF. It is the largest economy in Europe and the largest legal and insurance market in the EU. It is a strategic priority for us to strengthen our capabilities to support our clients in Germany and capitalise on the cross-border opportunities across Europe through our offices in Poland, Italy, Spain, France, the UK and Ireland.”
Doughty added that the incoming team complemented recent hires by the firm in the UK, where it has added a team of 13 marine insurance specialists and a 27-strong major injury and casualty team from Kennedys over the course of this year.
“We now have a very strong global marine offering, with plans to build further capability in new and existing locations over the coming 12 months,” Doughty said.
The team is expected to join DWF on 1 January 2026. Hamburg will become the firm’s third office in Germany, in addition to its bases in Munich and Düsseldorf that offer dispute resolution, real estate, employment, corporate and commercial services.
Oliver Bolthausen, Germany country managing partner, said the Hamburg launch was “the first in a series of steps that will see us grow both our commercial services and insurance services offerings”.
DWF also significantly expanded in Australia earlier this year with a team of 62 insurance specialists recruited from local firm Hall & Wilcox, as well as opening a fourth office in Canada with the hire of an insurance team in Montreal.
The firm grew its topline 8% to £466m in the year ending 30 April 2025, the firm’s first full financial year since its buyout by Inflexion.
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